


thankful for you

by choi_kimmy



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Blank Period, Canon Compliant, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Happy Thanksgiving 2019, the softest ever
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-29
Updated: 2019-11-29
Packaged: 2021-02-17 22:17:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,704
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21600637
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/choi_kimmy/pseuds/choi_kimmy
Summary: “I’m thankful you stayed.” She whispered just loud enough for him to hear, referring to when Steve had stayed in the facility with her even after everyone had left, leaving their past as an Avenger behind. He responded by tightening his grasp around her. “I’m thankful you’re here.” She continued, sighing in gratitude.In other words: Steve and Natasha tell each other what they are thankful for.
Relationships: Steve Rogers & Natasha Romanov, Steve Rogers/Natasha Romanov
Comments: 18
Kudos: 143





	thankful for you

**Author's Note:**

  * For [xo_stardust720](https://archiveofourown.org/users/xo_stardust720/gifts), [EightiesKat](https://archiveofourown.org/users/EightiesKat/gifts).



> Happy Thanksgiving! This was a spontaneous idea, so I hope you enjoy reading it even though I wrote this under an hour (and oh my god I actually am still capable of writing something that didn't exceed 2k). In some ways, this fic is somehow related to my other fic "Don't You Forget Me" since it takes place during the blank period and in that fic, there are snippets of their past together - so if you follow that series, just treat this as forming part of that universe, especially since I made reference to one sentence from that fic in this fic too. 
> 
> I'm thankful for writing for this fandom - I'm thankful for all of you! For all the support you have given me and the comments you have left me. Thank you, thank you.

Natasha usually wasn't one to celebrate Thanksgiving. It wasn't that she didn't have things to be grateful for - that would be the furthest from the truth, the fact that she was still here was testimony to how she was thankful for this second chance of living. For the longest time, she didn’t think she deserved this chance, not when there were so many people out there who probably deserved it more than her, yet they were not accorded with this fate. It took her a long time to come to terms with that, a long process of acceptance and healing that slowly manifested into that of gratitude. Once she found the purpose to continue living, Natasha had been thankful every day. The irony was not lost, though, that on Thanksgiving, she suddenly did not find the mood to celebrate. She just couldn't find the drive to, not when she was all alone in this desolate, ghost of a facility.

Natasha was staring forlornly into space, waiting for her microwaveable pizza when she heard the soft trudging of feet against the marble tiles. Natasha didn't need to turn around to know who it was - the corners of her lips curled up ever so slightly. 

"You really need to work on your stealth skills." She said loudly without turning around. "For a decade," Natasha sighed dramatically. "I've been teaching you for a decade yet you _never_ learn."

She heard him chuckling, felt his presence lingering behind her. "But I wasn't planning to be stealthy." 

Natasha rolled her eyes playfully, feeling his arms snaking around her waist, pulling her closer into him. “Just admit that you’re never going to be able to sneak up on me.”

Steve pressed his lips on the curve where her neck meets her shoulder, the contact easing the tension in her easily. She leaned into him, humming appreciatively at the soft kisses he was showering on her shoulder. “You’re back early.”

“It’s Thanksgiving.” He replied, his words reverberating against her skin, sending a tingle down her spine. “I wasn’t going to let you eat defrosted pizza for dinner.”

It was her turn to chuckle - trust him to know her best, know that she would resort to eating whatever food she could find in her freezer, rather than getting at least a proper meal delivered to her doorstep. The idea of celebrating Thanksgiving seemed more appealing now that he was here. “Does that mean you brought food with you?”

He hummed. “Turkey and pudding. Is that good enough?”

Natasha turned around gently, without breaking the hold he has around her. She placed her hands on his chest, feel the steady drumming of his heart beneath her palms - the sure sign that brought forgotten hope back into her life. Her eyes found his gaze naturally, green meets blue, and everything else just fades away. “You know those do not matter to me. Not when _you_ are here.”

His expression softened, the gleam in his eyes evident - they spoke more than words ever could. Through his quiet eyes, Natasha saw his soul. She saw love and sincerity. A chance of happiness, a promise that she would never be alone as long as he was by her side. “I’ve missed you.”

Natasha smiled, a blush blossoming across her cheeks. “Me too. But work is work.” She reminded him gently. “And you’re helping people heal.”

She was talking about his counselling sessions, his attempts of providing a platform for people to gather around and talk about their losses from the Snap. Steve simply nodded in agreement, pressing a long kiss on her forehead instead. 

The microwave let out a curt _ding_ behind Natasha, causing him to tear his gaze away from her. He groaned exaggeratedly, in an almost comical manner just as Natasha broke his hold with a laugh. “What did I say?” 

“I didn’t know you were coming back tonight.” She huffed defensively, opening the microwave door, the smell of pizza wafting into the air immediately. “We’ll just include this with the food you bought.”

“Okay fine, but we’re not touching that. Not when there’s _actual_ food on the dining table.” Steve persisted, much to her obvious amusement. She didn’t argue, merely taking the pizza out and then going on her toes to give him a quick peck on the lips. 

He resisted the urge to curl his arms around her again, watching as she edged away. Natasha glanced his way over her shoulder, a smirk adorned on her face. “So are you going to help me set up the table, or are you going to continue moping over frozen pizza?”

Steve gave her a lopsided grin in return. “Roger that, ma’am.” 

* * *

After dinner, Steve and Natasha retreated to the living room, settling on a single couch as they cuddled in that stretch of comfortable silence. They were content with just listening to the sound of their hearts beating in unison, basking in the warmth of each other’s arms.

Natasha was the first to break the silence in the air, speaking of words she had wanted to say for a long time but never had the right timing to. “I’m thankful you stayed.” She whispered just loud enough for him to hear, referring to when Steve had stayed in the facility with her even after everyone had left, leaving their past as an Avenger behind. He responded by tightening his grasp around her. “I’m thankful you’re here.” She continued, sighing in gratitude.

He smiled, but kept mum. Steve knew that she wasn’t done with her sentence yet. He was right - Natasha had an entire list of things she was thankful for floating in her mind. She thought that it was fitting for her to express those words loudly for him to hear, it was Thanksgiving, after all. “I’m thankful you never gave up on me. I’m thankful that when I was at the lowest point of my life, you were right there next to me, bringing me back to the surface of the waters.”

Natasha propped herself up with an elbow, so that she could look at him. “I’m thankful that you saw past me years and years ago. For believing in me, for trusting in me even when I didn’t have it in me to trust myself. I’m thankful that with you, I learned how to trust again, to open my heart to another person.”

There was a pause as Steve reached out to push loose strands of hair from her eyes, tucking them behind her ear. Then, he started. “I’m thankful for the day I met you. I’m thankful you are part of the Avengers - you taught me so much more than I could ever learn if you hadn’t been part of the team. I’m thankful I had the privilege of being your partner, of getting to know you. Because you are such an incredible, wonderful person. The bravest woman I know.”

She smiled, wisps of red glowing on her cheeks at all the compliments he was showering on her. Steve continued. “I’m thankful for the infinite trust you have in me, thankful you are always willing to fight my battles, together with me. I’m thankful I have you to share all these life experiences with. I’m thankful...I’m thankful that you are still here even after the snap. When everyone I loved had left, you remained. You never left - and I’m thankful for that.”

“How can I leave when you’re the only person I have left?” Natasha mumbled, a surge of emotions welling in her eyelids - but they were happy tears, she’d like to believe. Happy tears, because after every ordeal she had to go through, he was _still_ here with her.

He wiped those tears away with his thumb, leaning forward to press his lips against hers tenderly, softly. “I’m thankful for you.” Steve said after he pulled back, watching the way she blushed, shaking her head as if to counter that. 

“I’m thankful for _you._ ” She echoed his words, intertwining their hands tightly together - they fit so perfectly, a constant reminder of how right this feels. “I’m thankful you taught me what love is. For the longest of time, that was a foreign concept to me, something I don’t believe in. Then I fell in love with you.”

Steve grinned, brushing his lips against her hand. “I’m thankful for this chance to love you. I’m thankful that I’m in love with you, Natasha Romanoff.”

She laughed. “And _that_ , Steve Rogers, is what I’m most thankful about.” Her expression softened, hesitation breaking across her face. “That you would be in love with someone like me. I’m thankful for that.”

“There’s no such thing as _someone like you._ ” Steve chided her gently. “There’s only _you_. And for that, I’m most thankful for. You being you. I love you _because_ you are Natasha Romanoff, not in spite of that.”

Natasha didn’t know how to respond to that - she rested her head against his chest instead, closing her eyes and resorting to just listening to his heartbeat. The sound of it comforted her in ways she couldn’t imagine, never knowing that she could feel this strongly for someone. If this was a dream, Natasha was sure that she didn’t want to wake up from it. The Black Widow wasn’t supposed to love, after all, let alone love _this_ much, having feelings that tore down her entire defence, exposing the vulnerable side of her. But as she learned over time, something Steve had pointed out to her after the Snap, that when the Black Widow feels, she feels with her _entire_ heart, reverberating throughout her entire _soul._

“I love you.” She settled for that in the end, the simplest way, yet they were special words which carry the most meaning. They were words that don’t come easy to her, but because of Steve, they became words that were dear to her heart, words that she found always on the tip of her tongue, words she wanted Steve to know.

He ran his fingers through her hair, his other hand aimlessly tracing patterns on the small of her back. Steve whispered softly, but the words echoed in their hearts loudly. “I love you too - always and forever.”

* * *

  
  



End file.
